Chapter 6

"There you are, little guy!"

A big pair of hands scooped up the toddler in one swift motion and carried him out of the office.

"But Uncle Mookie, there's a man in there and he looks just like....."

"Yeah, ooookay......hey, why don't we go find that Disney movie you like, huh, buddy?"

Richie was never so happy as now that Romeo had an attention span of a gnat. "Oh boy! I know where it is. Are you going to watch it with us?"

"Maybe for a little while. Then I have to go pack for my trip."

"Where are you going, Uncle Mookie?"

"Home. But I'll be back real soon." I hope.


"Good, you've found him." Relief showed on Jon's face as Richie came walking through the family room with Romeo perched on his shoulder.

After Romeo dug up the DVD, Jon put it in the player and they all settled down to watch Aladdin, although Romeo kept glancing back towards the office every now and then.

*****

"Remember, if anyone asks, you had your name legally changed because people kept telling you that you look like Jon."

"I am Jon."

"Look, if you're going to be difficult about this, you little twerp, then you're on your own. Go ahead and see how far you'd get with that attitude."

Jon sulked at this, but he knew he had no other choice, especially after Richie had rescued him from being discovered. He was afraid to go about it alone and he needed Richie's help. "Alright, fine. I used to be Bob Guggenheim but changed my name so I can attract chicks. Satisfied?"

"Whatever. Just don't draw attention or they'll take you away for sure. And if you ever pull a stunt like back at the house again, I'll disown you and leave you to your own devices. What the hell were you thinking, anyway?"


They had somehow gotten through the check in, but not without difficulties.

"Your ID says you were born in 1962," the attendant, whose name tag read Joseph, had looked at Jon with a skeptical eye, pushing his bifocals up his nose to get a better look.

"Plastic surgery," Richie had replied while grinding his foot into Jon's before he could protest.

Joseph hesitated for a few minutes and Richie and Jon held their breaths. Finally, he looked him over once more and claiming, "they didn't do a very good job," had proceeded to issue their boarding passes. When Jon's eyes flashed indignant, Richie grinned but grabbed his arm and dragged him away.

*****

Richie was cautious enough to book them first class seats. This way, they could wait for boarding inside of a private lounge instead of in a public area where Jon was sure to attract some kind of attention.

They had somehow managed to cover up Jon's make-shift tank top made from cutting off the sleeves of a T shirt with one of Richie's jackets and his eyes were shaded with a pair of borrowed sunglasses, but there was no way to disguise his wild, flowing hair. Jon was shocked that Richie would even suggest cutting it.

"No fucking way! I saw what I looked like when I'm old."

"Older" Richie interjected.

"What?"

"Not old - older," Richie smirked at him, "you might want to remember that."


They had found a quiet corner in the lounge and ordered drinks, a beer for Jon and coffee for Richie. Jon looked at him in surprise, "you're not having a beer?"

"Nope. That stuff is poison in more ways than one."

Jon saw pain and regret in his friend's eyes. "What happened, Rich?"

"You will find out in due time," was all he would say.

Both men sat in silence for a few minutes, each deep in their own thoughts.

"That was my son, wasn't he?" Jon said quietly. "He knew it was me. I could tell by his expression, that he knew."

"Good thing I was able to distract him, you idiot." Richie was recalling the near disaster. His heart had practically stopped when he discovered Jon and Romeo staring at each other. "I cannot imagine what would have happened if he started screaming for his dad. In fact, I'm worried about what he might be telling him right now."

"He won't say anything."

"You don't know that. He's barely four, no telling what he'll do."

Jon said nothing but was pretty confident that his secret was safe. When they had sneaked out of the house and Romeo had looked back at him, he merely waved at Jon and turned back to his movie.

*****

Luckily the flight was not crowded and they were able to relax, unnoticed, for most of the way. The flight attendant didn't seem to be a fan though clearly she knew who Richie was. She kept eyeing Jon, who was sleeping most of the time, but said nothing.

Upon landing, they made a quick exit since Richie only had a small carry on bag. He hailed a taxi and when the driver opened the door for them, Richie looked back to find Jon standing amid a crowd of women. They were oohing and aahing over him and trying to get a photo with him. The little twit was rather enjoying this and was mugging for the cameras and kissing the women.

"Jon!"

The women turned and looked from one man to the other and when the second of shock had passed, they descended upon Richie. "Richie, can we get a shot of us with the both of you?" "Is there a puppy version of you, too?" Puppy version?! What the hell is that?

They finally managed to detangle themselves from the alarmingly growing mob and escaped into the safety of the cab.

Jon did not have to wonder if Richie was upset, for when he looked over at his friend, he could practically see steam coming out of his ears. "Don't worry bro. I told them that I was an actor playing the part of young Jon."

When Richie said nothing but just glared at him, Jon shrugged and settled back for the ride. This was worse than having your parents chaperone a date. His mind drifted to last night. I wonder if I'm missing. Are they looking for me back there?

After a long silence, Richie finally spoke. "You need to be careful about what you do and who you meet."

"Why?"

"Because you have a good life now and I'm not going to let you do something that's going to fuck it up."

Jon was about to protest when he stopped. It dawned on him just how good a friend Richie was that he cared enough to go out on a limb to protect him.

"Thanks, bro."

As they neared the house, Jon noticed Richie looking pensive. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just dreading the phone call from Jon asking who the hell was in his house. I'm betting Romeo told him about seeing you in his office."

"No, he didn't."

"What makes you so damn sure?"

The taxi went through the gate that Richie had opened, drove up to the front of the house and stopped.

"Because he knows."